Bertelsmann, Kirch Deal
Faces Rejection by EU

BONN -- The European Commission is likely to reject a planned pay-television merger in Germany this week, throwing into question the development of that country's nascent digital pay-TV market.

If Kirch Group and CLT-Ufa, the TV unit of Bertelsmann AG, fail to make any more concessions to ensure competition in Germany's digital TV market, EU antitrust guardians will reject their merger proposal, said a commission official familiar...